Judges are used as scapegoats to undermine rule of law

Judges in the Netherlands are being used as scapegoats by politicians whose policies are being challenged in the courts, justice advisory body Raad voor de Rechtspraak has said in its annual report.

Criticism of some court decisions was “understandable” because they influence government policy, chairman Henk Naves said. One example, he told broadcaster NOS, is the greenhouse gas emission case against Shell which would have had an impact on government climate policy.

“A judge does not base his decision on what is expedient but on what is lawful and that is a fundamental difference,” Naves told NOS. “There are winners and losers in every case and that leads to emotional reactions, particularly if they are about social issues where opinions are diametrically opposed.”

However, Naves said, the line needs to be drawn at politicians who use the rulings as a means to provoke social unrest instead of looking for solutions to the problems. “They are undermining the authority of the court and people’s faith in the rule of law,” he said.

Comment such as “this is not the decision I had hoped for” from farm minister Femke Wiersma over a ruling about CO2 at the beginning of this year and the “surprise” expressed by justice minister David van Weel when a judge barred him from stripping a jihadist of his Dutch nationality, are “eroding””  the judicial system, Naves said.

Regarding judges as obstacles clears the way to ignoring court rulings, Naves warned.